Improved document annotation techniques are provided. For example, in one aspect of the invention, a technique for determining an annotation for a document includes the following steps/operations. A user-proposed annotation to be associated with the document is obtained. Then, the technique automatically determines, in accordance with a knowledge base, whether the user-proposed annotation matches at least one allowed annotation.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method of determining an annotation for a document, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining an annotation proposed by a user to be associated with the document; automatically determining, in accordance with a knowledge base containing allowed annotations, whether the user-proposed annotation matches one or more allowed annotations from the knowledge base; and annotating the document with an allowed annotation from the knowledge base when the user-proposed annotation matches the allowed annotation from the knowledge base; wherein the user need not consider any annotations when a single allowed annotation is automatically determined to match the user-proposed annotation, and when more than a single annotation is automatically determined to match the user-proposed annotation: (a) in a first mode, the user need only consider the matching allowed annotations and select one of the matching allowed annotations; and (b) in a second mode, the user need not consider any annotations but rather one of the allowed annotations is automatically selected.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of notifying the user that the user-proposed annotation does not match at least one allowed annotation, when no match is found.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of storing a user-proposed annotation/allowed annotation match, when a match is found.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of notifying the user that the user-proposed annotation matches more than one allowed annotation, when more than one match is found.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user is notified of match results after each attempted matching operation.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user is notified of match results after a predetermined number of attempted matching operations.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of maintaining a history buffer of matches.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the history buffer is used to update a set of allowed annotations.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the history buffer is used to disambiguate matches.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automatic determining step further comprises determining a closeness between the user-proposed annotation and the at least one allowed annotation.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the knowledge base comprises at least one term graph.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the automatic determining step further comprises the steps of: determining a node in the at least one term graph that corresponds to the user-proposed annotation; determining at least one node in the at least one term graph that corresponds to the at least one allowed annotation; and computing a distance between the nodes.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein node determination comprises a stemming operation.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user-proposed annotation is stored, when the user-proposed annotation matches the allowed annotation, such that the user-proposed annotation is useable in a subsequent match operation.
15. Apparatus for determining an annotation for a document, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and operative to: (i) obtain an annotation proposed by a user to be associated with the document; and (ii) automatically determining determine, in accordance with a knowledge base containing allowed annotations, whether the user-proposed annotation matches one or more allowed annotations from the knowledge base; and (iii) annotate the document with an allowed annotation from the knowledge base when the user-proposed annotation matches the allowed annotation from the knowledge base; wherein the user need not consider any annotations when a single allowed annotation is automatically determined to match the user-proposed annotation, and when more than a single annotation is automatically determined to match the user-proposed annotation: (a) in a first mode, the user need only consider the matching allowed annotations and select one of the matching allowed annotations; and (b) in a second mode, the user need not consider any annotations but rater one of the allowed annotations is automatically selected.
16. An article of manufacture for determining an annotation for a document, comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of: obtaining an annotation proposed by a user to be associated with the document; automatically determining, in accordance with a knowledge base containing allowed annotations, whether the user-proposed annotation matches one or more allowed annotation from the knowledge base; and annotating the document with an allowed annotation from the knowledge base when the user-proposed annotation matches the allowed annotation from the knowledge base; wherein the user need not consider any annotations when a single allowed annotation is automatically determined to match the user-proposed annotation, and when more than a single annotation is automatically determined to match the user-proposed annotation: (a) in a first mode, the user need only consider the matching allowed annotations and select one of the matching allowed annotations; and (b) in a second mode, the user need not consider any annotations but rather one of the allowed annotations is automatically selected.
17. A method of providing a service for determining an annotation for a document, comprising the step of: a service provider deploying a system operative to: (i) obtain an annotation proposed by a user to be associated with the document; (ii) automatically determine, in accordance with a knowledge base containing allowed annotations, whether the user-proposed annotation matches one or more allowed annotations from the knowledge base; and (iii) annotate the document with an allowed annotation from the knowledge base when the user-proposed annotation matches the allowed annotation from the knowledge base; wherein the user need not consider any annotations when a single allowed annotation is automatically determined to match the user-proposed annotation, and when more than a single annotation is automatically determined to match the user-proposed annotation: (a) in a first mode, the user need only consider the matching allowed annotations and select one of the matching allowed annotations; and (b) in a second mode, the user need not consider any annotations but rather one of the allowed annotations is automatically selected.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
November 26, 2003
March 9, 2010
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.